... POORLY RECORDED SONGS THAT ...

Needless to say most songs are just of average recording quality and many more are relatively poor.

The only thing one can do practically is try to build a system that allows one to enjoy as many recordings they might care about as possible.

If you are an "audiophile" then you also seek a system capable of delivering on the really good recordings as well.

If done right, you might get it all out of one system. Its a good goal!

Well, one classic example was Dylan's muddy sounding Street Legal album from 1978. It did get a much needed remix in the 90s, but even that doesn't sit well with everyone.

The Mamas and Papas back catalogue suffers badly from too much 'bouncing down'. Vocals are OK, but that's about it with the background being muddy. Ditto the Loving Spoonful, but a little treble lift on your amp can certainly help with these "difficult' albums.

Most Punk Rock was recorded indifferently, but unfortunately sound quality wasn't the main point. Never Mind the Bollocks is also a bit muddy sounding. I tend to be far more forgiving of bright/ thin sounding records because they don't tend to obscure lyrics.  

Heavy Metal/Rock can also push recording quality to its limits. Far too often the dynamics and bandwidth suffer from poor recording.  I do remember once hearing an album on vinyl, by Tankard I think, where the crystal clear dynamics were amazing.

to onhgwy61: I have a system that I listen to but not everything sounds "peachy", and you don't know how music is gonna sound till you hear it; there are so many recordings of music on different labels from different years that just maybe someone's heard a better version of a song than I have - and I'd like to know that...
and to mapman: thanks for possibly saying in a 'clearer' way for me to understand what onhgwy61 was attempting to say...

I hate to beat a dead horse here, but most CDs in the last few years are engineered with DR range compression that makes them hard to listen to and impossible to correct. No system can significantly enhance what doesn't exist in the recording.

Both of Alabama Shakes albums come to mind. Great stuff. Great writing. Great performing. Bad engineering. And there is no excuse for it.

"Can't Find My Way Back Home" from the Blind Faith album. The best vinyl copy I have, a first UK Polydor, is an improvement over the original US pressing, but the cymbals still sound like trash can lids. The song and performance still shine through despite that. (It's not an ear bleeder, just an awful recording).